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Approving Workflows

Modified on: Wed, Feb 27, 2019 at 1:04 PM

This article is part of Workflows training. Click here for more information on Workflows

AP Invoices and Journal Entries that meet certain criteria must be Approved in an Approval Hierarchy when Workflows have been enabled. This article will explain how to recognize when a transaction falls within the requirements of a Workflow, and how to Approve (or Deny) an approval request.

Example Workflow Rule-set

This article will walk through various scenarios that pertain to the following Workflow Rule-set:

Recognizing Transactions that are subject to a Workflow

Workflows are highly customizable and as such may differ from organization to organization. Workflows can be setup for AP Invoices and Journal Entries, with specific Workflow Rules pertaining to the following record groupings:

If your Users have the correct security privileges to Approve an AP Invoice or a Journal Entry (such as 'Accounting Manager', 'Approve AP Invoice' or 'Approve Journal Entry'), they will not be able to Approve a transaction that is subject to a Workflow rule.

When Workflows have been enabled, the 'Approve' Menu will disappear on a blank AP Invoice / Journal Entry. Only after the transaction has been saved will the 'Approve' Menu appear (if it should).

Unsaved - No Approve Menu present

Saved with No Applicable Workflow (Dollar value is less than lowest Workflow threshold) - Approve Menu present for User with Approve privileges

Saved with an Applicable Workflow - Approve Menu will only be present for authorized Approver (Thomas O'Malley)

Imported Transactions and Workflows

Through various methods, AP Invoices and Journal Entries can be imported into R365. In instances where the Transaction is imported 'As Approved', but is subject to a Workflow, the Approval Status will be set to Unapproved and the appropriate Workflow rules will be followed.

Transactions imported as Unapproved will likewise follow any established Workflows as expected.

The My Workflows Page contains all current, and future, Approvals in your Workflows. This page is described in detail in the My Workflows article. This section will briefly describe how you can Approve, or Deny, transactions using My Workflows

To open My Workflows, hover over your Username and select 'My Workflows', as shown below:

The 'My List' tab will load where you will be able to view all of your current Workflows. Conversely, the 'Upcoming' tab will contain all of the Workflows that are awaiting Approval before they arrive in 'My List' for your approval.

Approve Options

Transactions can be Approved one by one by hovering over the green checkbox (a tooltip showing 'Approve' will appear) and clicking

You can also Approve several transactions at once by using the multi-select checkboxes and then clicking the Green 'Approve' button:

Deny - Click the gray 'X' button to Deny a Transaction

The 'Deny Invoice' prompt will load where it is required to enter a reason for the denial:

Transaction Record

Approving Workflow Subjected Transactions is performed exactly the same way a Non-Workflow Transaction is Approved. The Pending Approval User opens the Transaction and hovers over the 'Approve' Menu and selects an approve option.

Approve Options - Approve the Transaction

Note: If there are subsequent Approvers in the Workflow, that transaction will become locked to edits and remain 'Unapproved - Pending Approval' until the final Approval is secured. If an edit needs to be made, then the transaction must be denied and the edits performed prior to starting the new Approval Workflow

Deny - Stop the Approval chain, provide a Denial Reason, and return the Approval to the initial Approver / transaction creator. Denying an Approval will also change the Workflow status on the transaction to 'Work Needed'.

Approval Alerts on Transactions

Transactions that are subject to a Workflow rule will allow all Users (not just Approvers) to use the 'Alert Me' action to receive an email when the Transaction has received it final Approval. If the Transaction has multiple levels of Approvals in a Workflow, you will only receive the email alert when the final approval has been secured.

To enable Email Alerts, simply hover over the 'Action' menu on the Transaction and select 'Alert Me When Approved'

A success message will appear to confirm you will receive Final Approval Alerts

If you wish to disable email alerts, simply perform the inverse and select 'Don't Alert Me When Approved'

Again, a success message will appear to confirm your selection

Workflows Audit Tab

Each Transaction that is subject to a Workflow will have a Workflow Audit tab added to the transaction record. This tab is labeled 'Workflow' and appears after the 'Distribution' tab on the record. Each relevant event in the life of the workflow will be logged on this tab.

In addition to the Audit Log, a Workflow Status is listed, as well as Log Entry options. The Status will be set automatically as the transaction is approved or denies, but can be set manually by the current Pending Approval User.

For additional follow-up, Users can add Tasks, Notes and send Email/Text Alerts from this tab using the Log Buttons. Each Log Entry that is created will be listed based on the Entry Date and will also be visible in the Manager Log Module.